


The Breaking

by LadyLindariel (Morwen80)



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Family, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 11:17:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6192928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morwen80/pseuds/LadyLindariel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A journey to visit her parents takes a deathly turn when Celebrian is taken by orcs. Through love and loss, the family must come to terms with the events of the past and cling onto hope that they will be reunited together. Can they come together to help each other through their pain and loss?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is about Lady Celebrían and her family. It is going to cover everything from her journey to go visit her parents in Lothlórien, to her ambush and capture, everything in between, sailing and eventually her reunion with her sons at Valinor. I know this is a different twist on this tale but I really wanted to take it a different route. I hope you enjoy it.

 

 

 

It was a clear crisp fall day in the secret valley of Imladris. The leaves on the trees were slowly turning colour, decorating the valley in a sea of rich red and orange as the elves who dwelt in the valley made preparations for the coming winter, which promised to be a cold one. Inside the Last Homely House, Lady Celebrían, the wife of the lord of Imladris, was occupied packing many items to make the journey to visit her parents, Lord Celeborn and the Lady Galadriel and her daughter Arwen who was staying with her grandparents in Lothlórien.

Excitement flooded around Celebrían as she stood in her bed chamber, a dress in hand, gazing out at the beauty of the valley, for she had not seen her parents or her precious daughter for some time now and she was eager to make this trip. She had originally planned the journey in the summer months, but one thing on top of another piled up and the warmer months had quickly slipped past.

"Nana, how many items of clothing do you think you will be needing?" A voice filled with amusement and laughter asked from behind her and she turned to see a tall handsome raven haired elf, her eldest son, Elladan, watching her with a raised brow as he surveyed the room he had just entered.

An identical elf to Elladan, standing beside her, stifled a laugh as he continued to help his mother pack for her journey, "You never know brother, Lothlorien might have run out of clothing. Tis better to be safe than sorry." Elrohir said with as much seriousness as he could muster in his current state. "It would be a dismal thing indeed if Nana ran out of clothing, wouldn't it Elladan?"

Celebrían smirked and grabbed the pale violet dress from her youngest son and put it with the rest of her belongings, "I am not bringing too much, just enough to last me for the duration of the journey, my stay and the return journey. Besides, an elleth can never have too many dresses in her wardrobe, but I don't expect you two to understand that sort of thing."

Elrohir laughed, "No Nana, I can't say we would understand. Have you spoken to Ada yet?"

At the mention of her husband Celebrían stiffened momentarily before beginning to pack again. Her husband the Lord of Imladris was not happy that his wife was going. There had been an increase in orc activity lately and he didn't relish the idea of sending his wife in the midst of danger. Celebrían shook her head, glancing up at her son. "I have not. Not since this morning, no."

Elladan glanced at his twin before speaking, "Nana, he is just worried about you that is all. You know that orcs have been increasing as of late and he is just afraid for your safety. We all are. The roads are becoming increasingly dangerous to travel on, even with an escort."

Celebrían sighed, "I know ion-nín, but I will be well protected and I am quite capable of taking care of myself. I have been delaying visiting my own parents for far too long and I promised your sister I would come this time."

Before her son could form an answer, the double doors swung open and Elrond came striding in the room, his robes flapping around his calves in an agitated manner. His face was pale and he was visibly shaken, "Celebrían, I know I gave you permission to go but I have experienced a feeling, a feeling of dread, that if you leave, something will change forever. I don't know what it is, but I can't in good conscious allow you to leave. I'm sorry, but you do not have permission to leave."

Celebrian rolled her eyes in a most unlady like manner and huffed, clearly not pleased with her husband. "Elrond, we have been through this a dozen times already. Unless you have had a vision that something will happen, I am going first thing tomorrow." She crossed her arms in front of her determinedly. "I will not stay home just because you have a bad feeling about something. You worry too much my love, that is all."

"Cele-," he began to retort when all of a sudden Lindir burst in the room out of breath.

"My…Lord…Elrond! Please forgive the intrusion," he was gasping in between breaths, "I have just received news that there was an orc raid in the northern borders. Two warriors have returned with the news. They managed to escape but are badly wounded."

Elrond paled and turned to his sons, "Elladan, Elrohir, I want you to take a group of your best warriors and leave immediately. I want you to scout the area for any possible survivors and kill any orcs that you come across."

The twins rose, all laughter gone from their faces, kissed their mother and bowed to their father before leaving. When the door clicked shut behind them, Elrond then turned to his wife. "Celebrían, I have made up my mind. You are not going. It is not safe. If I were to let you go and anything were to ever happen to you, I would never forgive myself. Please understand this. I love you." He kissed his wife's brow and left the room leaving a very upset and frustrated Celebrían behind.

The courtyard was bustling with activity as Elladan and Elrohir along with several other elven warriors made the final preparations to leave. Horses stood waiting for the riders as the elves hurried between them, strapping supplies and other required items to their saddles.

As the twins got ready to mount, they saw their mother walking solemnly down the steps towards them. Her eyes were downcast and her hands were clasp together in front of her. Elladan shared a glance with his brother. Both twins knew she was very upset at not being able to travel but they also knew that it was for her best interest that she stayed behind.

"Elladan, Elrohir, my sons, please be careful out there and come back as soon as you can," she said, reaching up to place a gentle kiss on each of the foreheads of her sons. "Stay safe, for me," she whispered.

"We will Nana," Elladan said as he swung himself up into the saddle. Elrohir nodded. "We promise to come back as soon as we can." Turing their horses around, they lead the company of elves out of the courtyard and into the forest, intent on tracking down and destroying the orcs.

As soon as they had left, Celebrían turned to her husband who had come up quietly behind her. With tears in her eyes she pleaded and begged her husband to let her go. Elrond however would not relent. He was not about to let his wife go out in the wild when the orc attacks were getting more deadly and numerous every hour of each day.

As the two of them stood there on the steps of the Last Homely House, debating about why she should be able to go and why she shouldn't a messenger from Lothlórien arrived bearing a message from Arwen asking when her mother was going to arrive.

Celebrían turned to her husband, frustration and annoyance visible on her fair face. "Elrond, I promised her I would come. If I don't go, this will be the third time I have gone back on my word. Please, do not be the one to disappoint our daughter again," she pleaded as she held the roll of parchment out towards him.

Oh how Elrond wanted to shout, stamp his feet and tell his beloved Celebrían that there was no way on Eru's green Arda that he was going to allow her to go on such a journey with such a high risk of danger , but upon seeing the look of hope in her eyes and knowing that their daughter would be heartbroken if her mother didn't come again, he finally relented and told her she could go.

Celebrian was overjoyed and threw herself in Elrond's arms, "Thank you Elrond! I promise that everything will turn out just fine." She kissed him lovingly and went to go finish packing her belongings, a slight spring in her step that had not been present mere moments ago.

Elrond still didn't have a good feeling about letting her leave but if she was going to go he would make sure that his best warriors were going to be escorting her. He would not allow anything to happen to her. Elrond sighed heavily and went to find Glorfindel to see if he could spare his second in command Faron to escort his wife. But that feeling was still niggling in the back of his mind. What was it?

* * *

***** I know Arwen is in Lothlorien right now but I read that she lived in both Imladris and Lothlorien, so I have her staying at the moment with her grandparents


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning as the sun was rising over Rivendell, casting everything in a warm golden light, Elrond was in his study. He was finishing up his morning reports when he heard a knock on his door, "Enter," he replied without looking up from the paper he was revising.

"My, Lord Elrond, you called for me," Faron answered entering the room, his booted feet making no sound on the decorative rug spread out over the floor.

Elrond looked up and put the quill down, and then motioned for him to sit. "Ah yes Faron, thank you for coming so quickly. I am sure you are aware that my wife is leaving here this morning to go to Lothlórien?"

Faron looked at his Lord with disbelief, "She is travelling during these times of troubles when several orc attacks have been happening? Don't you think it unwise to let her leave, I know she misses Lady Galadriel and Lady Arwen terribly but it is far too dangerous for her to leave the safety of Imladris!"

Elrond looked at Faron with a look of uneasiness in his eyes, "Yes Faron, I am well aware of the dangers that are lurking in Caradhras which is why I am charging you and the best of your men to lead my wife and her companions through the Redhorn Pass to the realm of Lothlórien safely, understand?"

Faron lowered his head in respect, "I understand my Lord and I swear to you my Lord that we will make sure they are kept safe with our lives and arrive unharmed. When do we depart?"

Elrond walked towards the window seeming lost in space for a time before he answered, "They are leaving within the next hour. I want you and your men ready by then…and Faron be ever on your guard at all times, for the enemies of Middle Earth do not sleep."

Faron stood up and bowed, "I swear my Lord, it will be done as you command. Nothing but the very best."

Elrond nodded and motioned that he was finished speaking, "Thank you Faron that will be all."

Faron then turned and went to prepare himself and brief his troops for the dangerous trip that lay ahead. He felt uneasy about the whole thing. Orc attacks were becoming more and more frequent. It was not wise for any to be travelling the roads.

Elrond then returned back to his work but found it hard to stay on task. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was making a mistake letting his wife leave. Elrond wished that he had not let his sons leave but he was not going to say anything to his wife. He knew she would just tell him he was being worried for nothing. Shaking the feeling aside he forced himself to finish the reports he had been trying for the last several hours to complete. After all, they won't finish themselves, he thought glumly.

**~oOo~**

"Please Tinil, it will be fine, Elrond is making sure that Faron and the best of his warriors are with us, nothing will happen. Besides when was the last time you went back to visit your brothers? I'm sure they will want to see you after all these years of being away," Celebrian pleaded with her long time friend, trying to reassure her that all would be well. Tinil and Celebrian had grown up together and were practically inseparable and when she had married Elrond and moved to Imladris Tinil went with her as her friend and companion.

The silver haired elleth sighed, "But what about all the orc attacks that have been happening as of late? I have heard the patrols say they are coming closer and even have been rumoured of attacking during daylight hours."

Celebrían sat next to her best friend and placed her hand on hers, "Tinil, I swear to you, nothing will happen. Faron was trained by Glorfindel himself; he is one of the best warriors we have. Elrond would have sent Glorfindel himself if he hadn't of gone with my sons' to scout out the orcs that last attacked. However since he is gone, Faron is the next best thing. It will be alright. Please, it won't be the same without you. I will be the only elleth until we get to Lothlórien, and that would be too dismal for words."

Tinil giggled and rolled her eyes, "Well when you put it that way. I can't let you be left to fend off all the males yourself now can I? You would have an unfair advantage over me. I cannot let that happen."

Celebrían laughed, "So does that mean you are coming?"

"Ai, I will come, like you said it has been far too long since I saw my brothers." Tinil smiled at her persuasive friend.

Celebrían hugged her friend and jumped to her feet, "Oh thank you Tinil, now hurry and pack we are leaving within the hour." Celebrían then went to make sure she had everything she was going to need herself, "And Tinil, I promise everything will be fine, you'll see," and with that she left Tinil to pack her belongings, all the while wondering how she had been talked into such a journey.

Soon everything was pack and ready to go, Celebrían handed the last of her bags to Esgarben, one of the elves on Faron's patrol and she went to say goodbye to Elrond who looked like he had just eaten cookies that had been laced with salt by the twins during one of their pranking sessions.

"Celebrían, please, I beg you to reconsider. Please wait until the twins' return from scouting then you can leave. Just wait one more week, that's all," Elrond pleaded grasping his wife's hands in his as if they were a life line. "If something were to happen..." His voice trailed off, filled with worry and pleading.

Celebrían squeezed his hands gently, "Elrond, please stop worrying, everything will be fine. Faron is going to be with us as is the best of his warriors. If things start to become too dangerous we will stop and turn around, I promise. Now, my love, please stop worrying. It does not suit you."

Elrond, sighed as he knew his wife would not change her mind. She was too much like her mother, "Very well, however, the minute things take a turn you come straight back!"

Celebrían laughed, "I promise, now stop worrying please! Honestly, you are like an old mother hen, fussing over me like this."

Elrond hugged his wife and kissed her. When he let her go she went to her horse and mounted her. She looked back at her husband who still looked worried but managed a small smile. She returned the smile and then turned and left the gates of the Last Homely House, Faron and his company of elves following her closely.

"Be careful meleth-nin," he said softly as he waved good bye unaware that his life and that of his family would be changed forever in the space of a few short days.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics indicate Sindarin

The company that consisted of Lady Celebrían, Tinil, Faron, Esgarben, and several others, had been traveling for several hours now and were approaching the west side of the Bruinen. For most of the trip, the company had been silent, watching the scenery and keeping an eye out for any orcs. As they hadn't run into any yet, the travelers began to relax a little, talking quietly to some of their companions.

Eventually, the company decided to risk a much needed rest. The horses were starting to tire a little, and joints were becoming stiff. And, some were starting to get hungry and thirsty. Faron quickly gave orders for a perimeter to be set up and for a small fire to be lit.

Faron approached Celebrían, who was sitting on a stump, talking to Tinil.

"My Lady, even though we haven't seen any orcs, I believe that it is wise that you and Lady Tinil stay within the perimeter of guards."

Celebrían began to protest, stating that they were still near Imadris' borders, but she was interrupted by a very serious and stern Faron.

"My Lady, I gave my word to your husband that I would protect you with my life and those of my men. Either you listen to me, and stay within the perimeter, or we will turn around and go back to Imladris."

Knowing that it was futile to argue with Faron and not wanting to anger him any further, Celebrían quieted and nodded then turned back to her friend.

Faron walked away a few feet, and then watched Celebrían for a minute. After making sure that she would listen to him and not wander off, he turned and went to help the other elves finish setting up and preparing the meal.

Celebrían sighed heavily and whispered to Tinil, who was tying back her long silver hair.

"I swear that Elrond has gotten everyone paranoid that something bad is going to happen to me. I honestly don't understand what all the fuss is about! We're a good ways away from where the attacks have been happening. I think that we could relax a little bit."

Tinil stopped messing with her hair and stared soberly into her best friend's eyes.

"Celebrían, listen to me. I have practically known you your whole life. I moved from Lothlórien to Imladris when you married Lord Elrond. The entire time you two have been married he has not needlessly worried and has always had had a sound cause for concern. He loves you with his whole being, Celebrían. If he is disturbed to the point that he sent your sons and their patrols out, and feels that it is necessary for Faron and some of the best guards in Imladris to protect us, I think you should trust him enough to do as we are asked and to stop thinking that your husband is being paranoid!"

Celebrían lowered her eyes. Deep down she knew that Tinil was right. Elrond was very wise and he had the gift, or curse depending on your point of view, of foresight. The entire time she had known and been married to him, he had maybe once made a mistake with a vision. So why was she doubting him now?

"You're right, Tinil. Forgive me for doubting him. I am not sure why I would now."

Tinil laughed. "Probably because you are as stubborn and hardheaded as your mother!"

Celebrían feigned being insulted and pushed her friend lightly. "I am not!"

Tinil rolled her eyes playfully. "Mhm. Sure you aren't."

An hour later, the elves had eaten and were off again. The next couple of days were pretty easy for the company. They hadn't run into any orcs or other foul creatures, but Faron still had his men keep a sharp lookout. The skies were free of clouds and a brilliant blue peeked through the tops of the trees.

Eventually they came to a land that was desolate and barren. With no trees or boulders to keep them hidden or offer protection if they were attacked, the elves had gone from cheerful to solemn, and for good reason. The skies had gone from brilliant blue to a dark gray.

Faron had been discussing with Esgarben whether they should try to find some kind of shelter. The clouds had become darker and thunder had begun to rumble in the distance. Unfortunately, they didn't see any and they had to continue riding on. Just when the clouds broke and the rain poured upon the company making it almost impossible to travel, one of the guards spotted a cave. Faron quickly ordered two guards to go and scout it out and make sure it was safe. Within several minutes, the scouts came back and reported that the cave was uninhabited and safe.

With much lifted spirits and the hope of a warm fire, the elves quickly moved into the cave and out of the rain. Celebrían and Tinil helped set up camp. The cave was rather spacious and warm, bringing much needed relief. Esgarben found some old firewood in the back of the cave and soon a blazing fire was going.

Faron made sure guards were posted at the entrance, before joining the others in a simple meal of lembas and miruvor. He let himself relax, but only slightly. He had a job to do, and he didn't take it lightly. After eating, he set up the night watches and then rolled up in his blanket to catch an hour or two of sleep. He didn't need much, and he knew that his men were capable of handling themselves.

The rain continued to pour down throughout the night. Teithon, who was on first watch, noticed that there was some unnatural movement about a half a mile away. The occasional howl sounded through the dark night. Teithon watched the shapes slowly move closer.

_"Captain! Captain! Come here!"_ Teithon said urgently, but kept his voice down. Faron immediately rolled himself out of his blanket and came to stand next to Teithon. Teithon pointed towards the shapes.

_"I've been seeing movement for the past few minutes, about half a mile away. There's been some howling too."_

Faron nodded and watched carefully. Sure enough, hulking shapes were moving steadily along in the dark. Alarm coursed through him, but he quickly pushed it down. Alarm and panic clouded your mind, which led to making bad choices.

_"Keep watching, Teithon. Prepare for an attack at any moment. I fear that we've been spotted by an orc pack. Let me know immediately if we are attacked."_

Teithon's eyes widened. He saluted stiffly and loosened his sword in its scabbard. Faron quickly walked back into the cave and roused the other guards. He and Esgarben put together a hasty plan. Hopefully, they might go unnoticed and continue on their journey. If they were attacked, they would have to protect Lady Celebrían and Lady Tinil with their lives.

Teithon continued his watch, unaware of the approaching danger from his left flank. Suddenly, a black arrow flew out of the night and buried itself in his neck.

Teithon fell to the ground with a thud. He was dead before he hit the ground.


	4. Chapter 4

As Faron, Esgarben and several other guards were working on a hasty plan, Faron began to get a very uneasy feeling that something wasn't right. He looked around the small enclave, eyebrows furrowing, to see if everyone was present. Lady Celebrían and Tinil were busy sleeping near the back of the cave, the wounded were resting comfortably, and of course the others were with him. So what was wrong? Then it dawned on him, and his heart sank. Teithon! Where was he? When he looked near the front of the cave entrance and didn't see him, dread churned in his stomach. Faron quickly made his way to where Teithon should have been and what met his eyes was horrifying - there lying with an arrow sticking from the side of his neck was Teithon, eyes staring unseeingly and his limbs lax in death.

Faron's breath caught in horror at the familiar carvings on that arrow, and he spun to sound the alarm. "Quickly, arm yourselves! We are under attack! We must protect Lady Celebrían and Tinil!"

As soon as the elves had heard they were under attack, they flew into action, Lady Celebrían and Tinil huddled together at the back of the cave. However, the elves had no sooner readied themselves for attack when several groups of orcs barreled into the cave, scimitars drawn and angry intent clear in their eyes. Faron gave the order to begin the attack - at all costs were they to make sure the foul creatures didn't break through the ranks. Esgarben took the left flank while his brother Gwathron headed off the right, leaving Faron to take the center. The rest of the elves had lined themselves up in front of Celebrían and Tinil, keeping them safe from any projectiles.

As Faron, Esgarben and Gwathron fought on, they began to gain the upper hand, pushing the orcs further out of the cave and into the open with the rest of the elves following suit, but no sooner than they had pushed the enemy out orc archers began firing volleys shooting down several elves giving the footmen the advantage. However, the Elves would not give in and they fought even harder.

Meanwhile, inside the cave the two ellith were frightened out of their minds. They had no idea just what was happening to the Elves outside fighting. Celebrían felt horrible knowing that the Elves were possibly dying out there to protect her. Tinil on the other hand wanted to go out and help protect the ellyn, especially since her love Gwathron was out there fighting to protect her. Before Celebrían knew what was happening and before she could stop her, Tinil shot up and grabbed a sword that had fallen from one of the dead Elves and ran outside to help.

Celebrían was horror-stricken. "Tinil! What are you doing? Get back here!"

Tinil, face set, didn't appear to listen, and as she emerged outside to the fight she looked around for Gwathron, spotting him in a one-on-three battle. Esgarben, slashing down his opponent, saw Tinil and yelled at her to get back in the cave. "Tinil, what are you doing out here?! Get back in the cave now!"

Several orcs had heard Esgarben and immediately turned on Tinil. Tinil froze for one moment but as soon as the lead orc raised his weapon to strike her down she came to her senses and cut the head clean off the fell beast. The other two orcs, upon seeing their comrade fall, became enraged and charged her. Right before they could act Celebrían stood up behind one and ran him through the back, giving her friend the opportunity to strike the other orc down.

As Tinil was breathing in a sigh of relief she felt a sudden sharp pain through the back of her left leg and she let out a terrified scream. When she had looked down she had noticed an arrow protruding through her leg. Gwathron, who had been engaged with the other orcs, heard Tinil scream and looked over in horror as he saw the love of his life fall to the ground. Infuriated, he began to fight his way through the onslaught of orcs and finally made his way to her. Celebrían was bending down trying to protect her friend and would have been next if Gwathron hadn't arrived when he did. He hurriedly bent down and picked Tinil up, proceeding to carry her back to the cave with Celebrían close by.

By now the battle had more or less died down and when Gwathron entered the cave he was all but fuming. "What in Arda were you two thinking, going out there?! You two could have been killed - and then what?"

Tinil was sobbing by now, both from pain and fear. "I'm sorry, I'm - I only wanted to help you. Do not be mad at Celebrían, she came out to protect me. She had ordered me to get back inside but I refused to listen to her."

Celebrían was smoothing her friend's hair back trying to comfort her. Gwathron took a deep breath to calm himself before he spoke again. "Forgive me meleth-nín, I did not mean to yell at you. I was speaking out of fear. I do not know what I would do if anything were to happen to you. Let me look at your leg."

As he was examining her leg, the rest of the elves had returned from the battle. As Celebrían looked up she saw Faron, who was beyond furious. "Of all the idiotic things I have ever seen! Do you two mind telling me what you were doing out there? I thought I told you two to stay inside where it was safe! You could have been killed. I made a promise to your husband I would keep you safe and by you going out there like that you more or less insulted the lives of my warriors who died to help keep you safe!"

Celebrían was speechless as she watched Faron leave to go and cool off while helping to look after the injured. Esgarben, who had watched the whole thing unfold, slowly walked to Celebrían and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Just give him time, my Lady. He is just upset, that is all. He takes his job very seriously and he would never forgive himself if anything had happened to you."

Celebrían looked up with tears brimming from her silver eyes. "How many did we lose?"

Esgarben closed his eyes to collect himself before opening them again to answer. "Last I checked we had only lost six. We were very lucky but we lost six too many." He then looked over to his younger brother who was still tending Tinil. "How is she, Muindor (brother)?"

Gwathron had already removed the arrow and was busy bandaging the leg, his face set in concentration. "She is lucky. The arrow missed her major arteries so she did not lose much blood. I cannot tell yet if it was poisoned, and she will not really be able to walk on it."

Esgarben exhaled. "We will have to stay here for a day or two until we have tended to the others who have been injured. Tinil will have time to heal more by then. If she cannot walk, she may ride my horse. Give her some pain-relieving herbs with a slight sedative to help her sleep. I will be back to check on her later. My Lady, I suggest you get some rest yourself." Esgarben then left to go help Faron with the other elves while Celebrían tried to rest.

Faron was busy helping some of the other elves bind up the injured elves wounds when his second in command Esgarben came up. "How is Tinil?"

"She should be fine in a week if the wound is not poisoned. She will not be able to walk on her leg for a while. How bad are the injured?"

Faron looked up after he finished binding one of the arms of the injured. "For the most part they are okay, nothing too serious, however a few others have more serious injuries. Most of the elves think we should continue our journey but some of the elves think we should turn back and head home. What do you think?"

Esgarben looked around and took in the sight before him. While it was true they had a major victory it didn't change the fact that they had been attacked and not by some small group of orcs either. This was an organized attack and was a larger hunting party. If they were attacked now, it was more than likely they would be attacked again. It was only a matter of time. "I think we have come this far and we were lucky this time. I say we continue on, but keep a sharper eye out for more orcs. If we are attacked again, we turn around and leave."

Faron thought for a moment while looking over at Celebrían who was slightly shaken up and looked like she had been crying, a blanket pulled tightly about her shoulders. "Very well, we will continue but I want a close eye on Celebrían. She is not to be left alone for a moment. We were very lucky that this time she was not hurt or killed. I will not take any more chances."

Esgarben bowed slightly. "Yes, my Lord." He then went back to help his brother with Tinil.

Meanwhile, Celebrían was beginning to worry about her husband's warnings, wondering if perhaps he was right and there really was something to worry about. Perhaps there were a lot more orcs emerging then anyone truly knew about. Celebrían slowly closed her eyes and fell into a restless sleep, but not before she had said a small prayer to Elbereth to help keep them safe.

* * *

Ellith- plural for Elleth

Ellyn- plural for Ellon

I looked it up before I posted it to make sure I didn't spell it wrong


	5. Chapter 5

The next day found Celebrían taking care of Tinil while her betrothed Gwathron went out on a small patrol with his brother Esgarben to make sure that no other Orcs were around. To everyone's relief especially Celebrían's, Tinil's wound had not been poisoned. Tinil was sleeping peacefully as the head healer Eithon had given Tinil a sleeping drought laced with a strong pain reliving herb.

As Celebrían sat vigilant over her friend she would every so often look up at Faron who was looking over the other injured Elves. She was still very upset over yesterday and was unsure how to go about apologizing. Just as she was about to go over and make an apology, Esgarben, Gwathron and several other guards came in from scouting the area.

"What new have you Esgarben?" Faron asked standing up from tending the injured Elves.

Esgarben sat down and took a sip of water before he responded. "It appears that we slew all orcs in this surrounding area Captain, however we did run across some tracks further north that looked like they were from scouts and a few wargs. I would say they are from last night's battle. It is hard to say whether they were from orcs that got away or from one's we killed." Esgarben then lowered his voice to an almost whisper. "I think it wise that we make haste and move on. I fear what may happen if we linger here too much longer."

Faron took in a deep breath and ran his hand over his face while pacing slowly. This was grave news in deed. If these tracks that his men came across were tracks made by scouts that escaped and they were on wargs, then they were not safe at all. It would only be a matter of time before they cut them off from making it safely across the Redhorn Pass.

"Captain?" Esgarben asked concern etched in his grey eyes.

Faron stopped his pacing and came to his senses. "Yes, forgive me. You are right Esgarben, we cannot remain here. It is far too dangerous. We will have to leave within the hour, sooner if we are able to. Begin to pack our things immediately, I will begin to help Eithon move the injured. All those unable to walk including Lady Celebrían will ride horses. We cannot afford any delays." As Esgarben turned to go and make ready to leave, Faron laid his hand on his shoulder. "One more thing, no need to alarm Tinil or Celebrían of the possible danger, she is already anxious enough after yesterday."

Esgarben nodded his understanding. "Of course my lord. Not one word." He then left and told some of his men including his younger brother who got up and quickly started to pack.

Celebrían had watched the whole thing and despite Faron and Esgarben's attempts at keeping everything mum, she was no fool and knew that they were in danger. She silently got up and came to Faron who was already packing medical supplies and other equipment. "Captain?" She asked while carefully finding the right words to approach the subject. Before he could respond she continued. "I overheard you and Esgarben talking and I know that we could be in possible danger. Are you sure it is still safe to go on?"

Faron stopped what he was doing and looked Celebrían in the eyes. He was not sure what to say. Was it safe to continue, or should they turn back and return to Imladris while they still could. "What do you wish to do my lady? Do you want to continue our trip to your parents' or do you wish to make our way back to Imladris? I will respect your choice and no one will think any less of you if you decide to turn back."

Celebrían lowered her gaze for a split second before looking back up. Right now she was not sure what she wanted to do. A part of her was telling her that she should turn back and return to the safety of her husband's home, while another part of her was telling her they should go on as they had already come so far. "I think that if it is too dangerous to continue then we should return back to Imladris. However, if you think it is still relatively safe to continue forward, then I would like to keep going on. I trust your judgment Captain; you have kept us safe this long."

Faron felt his heart lurch at those words. She was trusting him to make the right decision. The question was, what was the right decision? When he thought about it for a minute or two he looked up and prayed he was making the right choice. "In that case my lady, if you are still willing, I say we continue on. We should be okay if we leave now and can make it to the edges of the Redhorn we can find shelter close by until daylight and then cross the pass into safety."

Celebrían smiled softly her silver eyes shining with compassion and trust for her protector. "I am willing Captain. Thank you. My husband made a good choice when he picked you to guide us." She then turned to go and pack up her few belongings and to help her friend who was now wide awake and being helped to a horse.

Finally, everything was packed, the wounded and Celebrían were on horses and they were ready to leave. Faron took one last look around and when he was satisfied that they were prepared he gave the signal and they were off. For hours they travelled without stopping nor was anyone conversing as they were in a hurry to reach the edges of the Redhorn Pass and to safety. Finally, just before nightfall they reached their destination. As they breathed a sigh of relief they heard a thud and as Celebrían turned towards the sound she let out a small scream. "Tinil!"

Gwathron rushed to her side and lifted her up in his arms fear etched on his face. "Tinil, meleth-nín!"

Eithon was quickly by both of their sides and checked her pulse. When he felt one he breathed a sigh of relief but it was soon short lived when he saw her pale complexion. "We must get her warmed up and soon. Quick to the shelter."

Gwathron hurriedly carried Tinil inside to the cave they were staying in and got her situated by the fire that had just been started. When Eithon checked her over his face paled at what he saw. On her left leg where hours before appeared to be fine was ugly black line spreading away from the wound. "It appears that the wound was poisoned after all. And without knowing just what kind it is we cannot do much for her. The best I can do is to treat it with Athelas and hope that we get to Lothlórien before it is too late."

Gwathron could not believe what he was hearing. "How long does she have?"

Eithon was not entirely sure. "It is hard to say. If her health continues to go downhill at this present rate, I would say a week at the most. Hopefully we will not run into any further delays and the Athelas will help slow the poison enough that her Elven attributes will kick in and she will last until we arrive."

Once they got Tinil taken care of and Eithon was certain she would last through the night, he began to make rounds to the other injured Elves. After examining them he was now not so sure that continuing on their present course was such a good idea. Not only was Tinil deathly ill, but four other Elves were seriously hurt and at least one of them he knew would not live through the night. Sílon, a guard of no older than nine hundred years old had a gash to his lower abdomen that had become seriously infected and on top of it, it had ruptured his spleen. The best that Eithon could do for the young Ellon was to make his last moments as comfortable as possible until Mandos had summoned him home.

Celebrían was by now in complete shock. This was her fault, if she had of listened to her husband her best friend and the other injured Elves would not be in this situation. Faron sensing her distress, sat down beside her. "My lady, this is not your fault. We knew the risk we were taking venturing out here during these dangerous times. It was a price we were all willing to take. Blaming yourself for things that are out of your control will not help. Believe me I know." Faron cleared his throat and looked away as if he was trying to fight back tears that were threatening to spill. "No need to think back to the past, not now for certain." He thought to himself.

Celebrían seemed to sense that something was wrong with Faron but before she could ask he patted her arm gently and got up. "You should get some rest my lady. If luck is on our side tomorrow, then we will leave early morning."

"What if we are not able to leave tomorrow? Tinil won't last much longer." Celebrían swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat. No, Tinil had to live. She refused to accept Eithon's verdict. He had been wrong before, what was to say he wasn't now?

Faron frowned. "Let us hope for her sake as well as yours that is not the case. Rest well my lady." He then left cursing himself. Why did he decide to continue? Why didn't he listen to his conscience and turn back? It was like he was reliving the past once again. That fateful day all those years ago when he had failed to protect her. When he had lost her. No, he would not fail again. He would protect his men and most importantly he would get Tinil and Celebrían to the safety of Lothlórien.

As night slowly crept over the small company of Elves none of them realized just how close to danger they really were. Somewhere far off in the distance faint howling could be heard causing the said Elves to be even more on their guard as they hoped and prayed that fate would be kind to them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics indicate Sindarin

Celebrían woke early the next morning to the sound of quiet sobbing. She groggily sat up and looked around for the source of the weeping. It was still quiet dark outside as the sun had not risen yet and if the weather from the past few days was any indicator they more than likely would not see the sun again today. Most of the other elves were still sleeping except for the few who were stationed near the entrance of the small cave they were staying in.

When her eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness they fell on a figure in the far back corner of the cave. Celebrían got to her feet and slowly made her way to the back passing Faron on the way. She noticed that he too looked upset, Celebrían looked at him and started to ask him what was wrong but Faron shook his head and motioned to the back and mouthed "Tinil."

Celebrían gasped softly and quickly made her way to where her friend was crying and when she got there she noticed that Tinil was slightly hunched over what appeared to be a body. "Tinil, are you alright?" Celebrían softly asked placing a hand on her shoulder? As she placed her hand on her shoulder, she flinched slightly at the amount of heat radiating through her gown.

Tinil looked up, tears staining her face. "No, I'm not alright. He's dead." Tinil looked back down at the body that was next to her.

Celebrían looked closer and felt her stomach lurch and covered her mouth with her hand to keep from crying out. There lying on the cold stone floor was the body of Sílon. Celebrían knew he had been gravely injured but didn't realize it was so serious he would die. She knew that Tinil and Sílon were good friends, they were in fact more like brother and sister despite the age difference. "Oh Tinil, I am so sorry. I know how much you cared about him."

Tinil couldn't hold back the tears anymore and flung herself into the open arms of her friend. As Celebrían tried to comfort Tinil she saw from the corner of her eyes Gwathron who had heard Tinil cry and came over to see what was wrong. When he saw the body of Sílon he lowered his head in respect for his fallen comrade. He had known Sílon since he was just an elfling and had been there when he had been recruited to join in Glorfindel's patrol. Sílon was always so eager to please and would often be the first to volunteer to go on patrols. " _Rest in peace mellon-nín_ ".

Daylight was now beginning to break and it began to look like the weather was going to be nice for them, which was a good thing. The Elven patrol had laid a cairn over Sílon and were now getting ready to make their way over the Redhorn Pass. They had consulted on what the best course of action was and while some had opted to turn around and go back, the majority had voted to continue, especially after they saw the condition Tinil was in.

Even though the poison had slowed down the effects of the poison were taking a toll on her body. She had developed a high fever overnight, her fair complexion was now deathly pale and her eyes were not focusing. Eithon had said their best bet was to get Tinil to Lothlórien so that Lady Galadriel could heal her. Celebrían wasn't so sure about it but she trusted Eithon's judgment and Faron had also thought it a good idea so she relented in the end.

When the rest of the injured had been put on the horses and everything was packed and ready to go, Celebrían mounted her own horse and they all departed. Whereas before the mood had been somewhat light now no one dared to speak for fear that they would be overheard and waylaid where they stood. Faron and Esgarben kept their eyes and ears opened for the slightest sign of any Orcs while Gwathron stood by Tinil and Lady Celebrían who were in the middle of the party along with all the other injured. The weather seeming to almost sense the sullen mood of the Elves began to change from a clear and sunny sky to a now gray and cloudy sky that spoke of snow. The Elves hoped that the weather through the pass would stay clear as they knew any snow would only slow them down which was something they could not afford to happen.

The day had been quiet. Not even the sound of birds or other small critters could be seen or heard. As they made their way further through the mountain pass the Elves were beginning to think that their luck would hold out, but it wasn't to be. They had just decided to stop for a small break as they had been travelling for most of the day when Gwennion, another ellon who had been injured a few days back had collapsed. Eithon was quickly by his side but when he bent down to check on him he knew by closer look that he was dead. Eithon checked to see what the cause of his death was and upon further examination it was discovered that he too had been poisoned. Fortunately, it was not the same poison that had plagued Tinil's body but now Celebrían had made the decision to turn around and go home. Eight Elves were now dead and Tinil was hanging on by just a hair. She would risk no more Elven blood, she would just have to visit her parents and daughter when the threat of the Orcs had passed.

"Faron, I have decided that we are to turn around and go back to Imladris. I will not have any more Elves dying just so I can visit my parents. We will rest for a few moments and after we bury Gwennion, we will turn back."

Faron bowed his head, "Yes my Lady." He then gave the orders to several other Elves to take care of Gwennion.

After everyone had paid their respects and Gwennion had been buried, the now tired and downcast group of Elves began to make their way slowly back towards Rivendell. Celebrían knew that a few of them were not happy about her decision however, Celebrían could not stop remembering back at her husband's words back home "I have experienced a feeling, a feeling of dread, that if you leave, something will change forever." She could not in good conscious continue this journey putting her people in more danger just so she could visit her parents. She could only hope that they would not run into any more danger on the way home.

**oOo**

Elrond had just finished going over some important documents on a future trade meeting with his chief advisor Lord Erestor when he was suddenly assailed by a dark feeling of fear and despair. He couldn't put his finger on what it was but he somehow knew it had to do with his wife.

Erestor looked up and noticed that Elrond was visibly shaken. He gently walked over to him and shook Elrond carefully by the shoulders. "My Lord, is everything okay?"

Elrond snapped out of his stupor and as quickly as the feeling had come it had left. "Uh..yes Erestor. Forgive me, I'm fine. I just miss Celebrían that is all. Please write up the reports and put them on my desk and then the rest of the evening is yours. Now will you please excuse me." Elrond then hastily turned and left leaving a very concerned and confused Erestor standing alone in his study.

Elrond was not sure what was wrong but he knew that it had to do with his wife. "Oh please Elbereth, let my wife be okay. Don't allow any harm to come to her." He then entered his room too worried and sick to his stomach to eat anything and fell in his chair trying disparately to keep himself together and convince himself that the feeling he had was just his mind being paranoid. It was just him missing his wife, after all, he has been wrong before and he would be wrong again.


	7. Chapter 7

No sooner had Celebrían informed Faron that she wished to return to Imladris and they had turned to leave, a small group of Orcs had burst through a hidden cleft from seemingly out of nowhere. Faron wasted no time and shouted an order to engage the Orcs. Esgarben and Gwathron held the back while Faron and a small group took the front. Celebrían this time had not attempted to fight but instead helped lead a very weak Tinil to a small overhang where they were both hidden from the enemy.

The orcs were easily taken care of; however, during the fight they had failed to notice one lone orc escape the onslaught. When all the other Orcs had been killed, Faron ordered Esgarben and Gwathron to survey the area and make sure that no one had been seriously hurt or killed while he and a few others took care of the dead orcs.

While Faron surveyed the dead Orcs, Esgarben made his way over. "Faron, we managed to escape this time without receiving any injuries, however, we lost two more Elves. I don't think we can ward off another attack. We have lost too many of our people. If we are to leave, it has to be now."

Faron looked over to where Celebrían helped Gwathron escort Tinil back to her horse, and then he knelt back down to one of the dead Orcs and motioned for Esgarben to do the same. "Esgarben, I fear you may be correct. Take a look at these Orcs. These are not your average fighters. They are scouts." Faron glanced back at Esgarben who had paled.

"Scouts? If these are scouts, then that means that there is probably a main Orc camp nearby. Oh, this is foul news indeed. We cannot linger here any longer; we must make our way back to Imladris before anymore make their way back here."

Faron stood up and kicked one of the bodies before beginning to walk away. "Yes indeed. Take care of our dead and then have some of our troops burn the Orcs. Waste no time. We leave within the hour."

"Yes Captain." Esgarben nodded in agreement and swiftly went to carry out his orders.

When Celebrían finished helping her friend and the other injured she found Faron finishing up loading his gear onto his horse. "Faron, how serious is it? I saw the way you were speaking to Esgarben. We are in serious trouble aren't we?" Celebrían tried to sound brave but deep inside she was more afraid then even she wanted to admit.

Faron wanted to shield her from the truth, but he knew that by doing so it would possibly cause more harm than good in the end. She was not just some elleth, she was the wife of Lord Elrond and the daughter of Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn. She was more than capable of handling the truth. "I'm afraid it is more serious than we thought, my Lady." He led her to the side and turned to face her, his gray eyes soft as he spoke to her. "The Orcs that attacked us were not your average fighting Orcs, they were scouts."

Celebrían gasped softly. "Scouts?" Even she knew the seriousness of the situation. Where there were scouts, there were bound to be more Orcs nearby.

"Yes, I am afraid so. I know I don't need to tell you what that means or that I want you to stay close by Gwathron for the remainder of our journey back. I will not lie to you; we will have to push harder than before if we are to make it back home safely. That will also mean that we will not be able to stop and rest very often, which may prove to be fatal to Tinil."

Celebrían bit her lip. Tinil. She knew that Faron was right, but it still didn't stop the pain from knowing that her best friend was on the brink of death and that by not stopping to rest often her body could over-exert itself, and she could die. "I understand Faron. When do we leave?"

Faron looked around and saw Esgarben who had just finished up taking care of the fallen Elves who had perished. "We will leave in a few minutes after we have burned the bodies of the Orcs. Go to your horse, my Lady. As soon as we have burned them we leave immediately."

Celebrían didn't hesitate to listen and she went to her horse. She looked at Tinil who was trying to be strong and pretend like nothing was the matter but she knew that was far from the truth. "Oh, Tinil, I am so sorry I brought you into this. I only hope you are strong enough to make this journey back." She whispered to herself not wanting to worry her friend even more than she probably already was.

Minutes later with the fire consuming the Orcs, Faron, Esgarben, Gwathron and the other Elves who had assisted in burning the bodies made their way to their horses. When Faron was situated, he looked around at what was now only a mere handful of Elves compared to what they had started off with two weeks ago with. Faron knew that if they were attacked again that it would take a miracle for them to pull through. "Oh, Elbereth, please watch over us as we make our way home." With that prayer, he gave the signal for them to make their way back to Imladris.

**oOo**

Orzag was furious. For far too long his Orcs had not killed or brought in any Elves and to make matters worse all his groups of Orcs were being slaughtered! His own master Azgad was going to have his own head decorating the camp if he didn't start delivering dead Elves and soon! Just as he was pondering on how he was going to fix this mess, Durz came limping in.

"Durz! I hope you have some good news for me. Azgad is not happy at our lack of progress, and if I have to tell him one more time that you have failed to deliver, I will personally gut you right here and now!" Orzag fumed his eyes burning red with fury.

Durz cowered back and trying to muster up his courage, he forced himself to come forward. "My liege, I regret to tell you that all my men were killed. We came across an escort of Elves but we were too few. I barely made it out alive myself."

Orzag could not believe his ears. With a hard blow, he lambasted Durz across the face, drawing blood. "You fool! Didn't I tell you not to come back to me unless you either killed more Elves or brought some back to me?!"

"We tried my liege but..."

"I don't want excuses you miserable rat!" Orzag took a sword and raised his hand to strike when…

"My liege, they are travelling back to Rivendell. We overheard them talking. There are several wounded Elves including two she-elves, one of which is injured herself. One of the he-elves called one of them Lady Celebrían."

Orzag faltered upon hearing this. "Well now this is news indeed. Perhaps you aren't useless after all. Go and prepare our best troops and warg riders. We leave at dawn to obliterate the he-elves but I have plans for the two she-elves." Orzag laughed evilly as Durz left to prepare for the attack.

As soon as Durz was gone, Orzag turned to go and report this news to Azgad. If it was one thing Azgad prided himself on, it was the torture of prisoners, especially she-elves. Perhaps Orzag would not have to decorate his camp with his head after all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words in Italic indicate Sindarin and Bold are Black Speech

Orzag grinned to himself in anticipation. It was time for his troops to move out. **"Durz. Make sure the troops are very clear about the order not to kill the she-elves. I want them alive."**

The smaller orc nodded in acquiescence and relayed the order down the line, where it was received with much growling and gnashing of teeth. The anticipation began to build. They all wanted a taste of elf flesh, elf flesh which had taken the lives of many of their compatriots.

They would not fail this time. They had the perfect plan.

The small company was trekking their way back to Imladris in the pouring rain. Despite not wanting to, the group had to stop and rest several times due to bad weather and the fact that several of the Elves, including Tinil, were very weak. They were now running low on rations and had to save every last bit until they reached Imladris. They were in no position to hunt small game or set snares, not until they crossed the border. Tinil, despite her grim appearance and situation, seemed to be faring better than even Eithon had thought she would. She would still need the healing expertise of Master Elrond but it seemed that she would make it back alive if nothing happened to delay them.

None of the elves were talking at all anymore, even Lady Celebrían remained quiet as they were all on high alert. They were now passing through a narrow, rocky passage, the perfect place for an ambush. It had not been their first choice of route but the alternatives had shown signs of recent orc activity and all of them knew that they could not withstand another attack.

The silence was tense and watchful. If they were attacked they would need to be able to swing into action in a heartbeat if they were to stand any chance of making it out in one piece.

Faron and Esgarben were at the front of the company scouting out the area when all of a sudden they heard the unmistakable war cry of orcs! Within seconds orcs were pouring out on all sides, scaling the crevices, leaving no room for any elf to escape. Orc archers began firing volleys, hitting and killing several of the elves instantly. In desperation Faron yelled orders for all of his men to attack even as they drew their weapons, slaying anything within reach. In the initial confusion Tinil's horse was shot in the neck, flinging her off. She landed hard, hitting her head on a rock, causing her to become disorientated. Gwathron, who had been separated from her when the attack began, ran to her side and began slaying the never ending onslaught of Orcs that threatened to kill all of them, protecting his love with a burning fury.

"Tinil! You and Lady Celebrían must find a way to get out of here and make for safety. If you stay you both will be killed!" Gwathron had tears in his eyes as he spoke to Tinil, he knew that if she left the chances of them meeting again on these shores was immeasurably slim. But staying here meant certain death.

"I will not leave you!" Tinil pleaded. She would rather die than be separated from Gwathron.

"Tinil…" He began to plead, tears flowing freely now. In his anguish Gwathron failed to notice an Orc approach from behind, its spear levelled.

Tinil's eyes alighted on the orc as it lunged, widening in terror, and she screamed a warning. "Gwathron!" Even as his name left her lips, the spear slipped through his back, the head ripping into open air through his stomach. Tinil screamed in horror as Gwathron fell to his knees, surprise and disbelief on his face. She reached out for him, to hold him as he died, but she was grabbed and restrained by several orcs.

Tinil screamed and fought but it was no use, she was not strong enough to overpower them. As they dragged her away Gwathron could only look on from where he knelt, slumped and helpless, his life draining into the soil. Another orc approached and laughing he raised his sword to deliver the killing blow when out of nowhere Esgarben came raging through and beheaded him.

Esgarben was engaging several other orcs in a dance of death when he heard Tinil scream. He looked her way to see his brother fall to his knees, an orc spear sticking from his back. Enraged, he roared in anger and began to race to his brother, killing anything and everything that got in his path. He could not cut his way through all the enemies in time to reach Tinil, only just reaching his brother to remove his would-be-executor's head.

As the beast's body hit the floor, Esgarben fell to the ground, dropping his sword as he pulled his little brother in his arms. "Gwathron, look at me, please stay awake!" He choked on his tears as he spoke. It was too late. His brother was already heeding the call of Mandos. Tears began to fall freely, landing on his brother's face.

"They have taken… Tinil. I… I have… failed... you... Faron... Tinil" Gwathron said, his tears mingling with his brother's as he began to cough up blood, his breathing coming in gasps.

Esgarben caressed his brother's face. "You have not failed anyone. I am proud to call you my brother and to have fought by your side." As he finished speaking the light left his brother's eyes and he breathed his last breath, going limp.

Esgarben howled in anger and grief. He wanted nothing more than to weep and mourn but to do so now would mean certain death. And he would not die while those who murdered his brother still lived.

He picked up his sword, leaping to his feet, filled with a strange energy. He began hacking his way through the orcs, making his way to where they had taken Tinil. He had almost reached the small knot of orcs with their struggling bounty when Orzag stepped out of nowhere and ran his cruel orc-blade through Esgarben's gut.

The orc grinned as he twisted the blade up and yanked it out of Esgarben's body, stepping neatly to the side as Esgarben fell forward, and as he lay on the moldering leaves, his life fleeing from its damaged home, Orzag laughed and whispered in his ear, "How does it feel to know you failed both your brother and the she-elves?"

Esgarben had no answer, for he lay dead at Orzag's feet.

Celebrían had heard the shrieks of the Orcs and Faron yell for the Elves to begin fighting and immediately began to look for her friend Tinil. She knew she had to get her and her friend out of the fight or they both would either be killed. Or worse.

She desperately searched for a way out but there was nowhere for her to go. All she could do was look around her in horror as she saw her friends and companions being struck down before her. Despite their watchfulness they had been surprised and were severely outnumbered. For all their skill and experience, they were no match for the orc band. There were just too many of them.

Celebrían forced herself to take her eyes off the carnage and to look for Tinil. She had just about given up hope on finding her friend when she heard the faint cry and saw Tinil struggling in the arms of orcs out of the corner of her eye. She nudged her horse to go forward into the carnage. She knew she had to reach her or Tinil's fate would be worse than if she had died out here.

She was making good progress towards Tinil when an orc arrow hit her horse in the side. He reared in fear and pain then began to collapse, flinging Celebrían from the saddle face first into the mud. She slipped several times trying to get to her feet. A couple of orcs saw her and started advancing towards her, malice intent in their eyes. For a moment she felt like all she wanted to do was to crawl into a hole until all this was over. Then she steeled herself. She was not about to become sport for orcs. She would die first, taking as many as she could with her. She hurriedly searched for a weapon and spotted a fallen sword, grabbing it as she finally succeeded in getting to her feet.

"Look at what we have here, a filthy she-elf who thinks she can take us down." One of the orcs sneered while the other chuckled in mirth. They licked their lips with menace as they advanced.

Celebrían screamed in anger and started swinging her sword in a rage. "I will not let you take me or my friends you filthy orc scum!" As the words left her mouth the orcs ran at her swords drawn. Celebrían didn't know what came over her or how she managed it but a few short moments later both orcs lay dead. Desperation lent her strength and skill and she found that now her rage wouldn't let her stop.

She continued slaying on a hate-fueled rampage. She was not aware of how many she had killed when something sharp pierced her left shoulder. All of a sudden the rage left her as pain filled her vision and she fell to the ground weak and exhausted.

Her whole world was spinning out of control and she could feel darkness begin to overtake her. She tried to stand only to fall again. Her ears were ringing and her head began spinning. Next to her, her horse was crying out in agony. So this was how it was to end. She was going to die a slow death at the hands of her enemy never to see her family again.

Celebrían dragged herself slowly over to her dying horse and began to speak calmly to it, caressing its neck. _"Shh, mellon-nín. It will all be over soon."_ The words were to comfort herself as much as her dying mount. As Celebrían was talking to her horse, she heard an evil cackle and looked up to see an orc scout looking down on her with a twisted smile.

"What is wrong? Your horse is suffering? Well let me help you put it out of its misery." The orc drew a short knife and slit her horse's throat, instantly killing him. Celebrían screamed in anguish as blood spurted out of his neck and she saw him fall limp.

In a blind rage she grabbed her hidden dagger and threw it right at the orc, hardly believing her eyes as it lodged itself in the orc's skull. The orc dropped like a stone and Celebrían collapsed on her horse, weeping. This was all her fault. All of it. Why didn't she listen to Elrond? He warned her that something bad was going to happen but in her stubbornness she refused to listen and now all her friends were dead or dying and Tinil… Who knew what horrors were going to happen to Tinil.

Celebrían was roused from her position by a sinister laugh. Startled, she looked up to see Orzag accompanied by six orcs. **"Grab the she-elf and put her with the other one. We will have a lot of fun with them before Azgad has his way with them!"**

Celebrían didn't need to be told what he was saying. She could tell by the look in his eyes that she was to be taken alive and tortured later on. Before she could try and flee the orcs leapt upon her, quickly tying her hands and feet. She tried to break free but she quickly realized she was no match for these orcs.

Once she was secured Orzag gave orders for the rest of the orcs to finish off the remaining Elves. As Celebrían was hauled away she saw Faron and a few surviving elves fighting in vain against orcs.

"FARON!" She screamed in terror, desperately wanting saving.

Faron heard Celebrían scream and along with his remaining companions, redoubled his efforts to reach her. "No, please don't let them take her. Don't let me fail again." He was barely aware of what he was saying, tears beginning to fall as his hope failed. There were just too many orcs. But he would not give up. Even as his companions fell from his side he grimly kept on fighting, making slow progress towards Celebrían.

Celebrían kept fighting, trying to break free. She had to get to Faron, she couldn't be taken, not like this. She watched his final companions fall to the orc blades, yet still clung onto the hope that he would reach her.

And then, to her utter horror, the orc archers fired another volley. Arrows sprouted from Faron's stomach and chest like daffodil shoots in the spring. He fell to his knees and stared at the mud for a moment before hauling himself up with a roar of pain, brandishing his sword wildly, flailing in the directing of Celebrían. Orzag watched with interest and barked a small word. His troops gave way to the stumbling elf, letting him pass, sneering.

"Faron…" She sobbed as he reached her, collapsing to his knees.

"I am sorry, my lady, forgive me." He made one last attempt to rise and Orzag took one long stride, swinging his cruel blade as he did so.

Faron fell to the floor, never to rise again.

Celebrían felt a numbness seep into her limbs and she could not fight anymore. She could only stare at the faces of the dead and weep.

**"Move out!"** There was no reason for the orcs to stay any longer and the two ellith were thrown over orc shoulders to be returned to camp, the ultimate trophies of war.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words in Bold are Black Speech

It was midday and Elladan and Elrohir were busy enjoying a much needed rest. They had just finished wiping out an orc camp in the northern borders of Imladris and both were completely shattered, yet simultaneously elated.

Safe in the knowledge that their fellow elves were keeping a careful watch the twins let their eyelids droop closed. They had hardly closed their eyes when suddenly, they both shot up, clutching their skulls in their hands, as if to shield them from a foe.

The pain lasted little more than a second though it felt like an age, and then, just as suddenly as it had started, it just stopped.

"What on Arda just happened?" Elrohir turned to his twin in confusion, still clutching his head as the last echoes of pain faded.

Elladan could only return the look, fear etching his eyes. He had no idea what had happened, what could affect both of them, and no other.

Both twins were utterly silent as their minds raced, until Elrohir faced his twin again and quietly uttered, "Do you think it was Naneth?" More than anything he wanted Elladan to tell him that he was being ridiculous.

But as soon as Elrohir mentioned their mother, Elladan shot his brother a look of horror and jumped to his feet. "Hador!"

The dark haired ellon hurried over upon hearing Elladan's frantic voice. "Yes, my lord?"

He only had to look upon the two faces, mirror images of horror and pain, to know that something was terribly wrong. "Is everything alright?"

"I… I do not know Hador, but Elrohir and I must ride back to Imladris at full speed. You are in charge. Finish burning the bodies and scout out the area further north for any orcs that may have escaped and then return to Imladris." Elladan rattled off the order, almost unable to keep his voice from shaking.

"Yes my lords. Be safe." Hador bowed, unsure as to why the twins were acting so strangely. Just a minute before they had been elated from their victory and now they looked as if they had seen a ghost. He turned and went to relay the orders to the other elves, putting his lords' strange behavior out of his mind as they continued to clear up the skirmish.

Elladan and Elrohir, meanwhile, mounted their steeds and rode for home, uncaring for their safety in a reckless gallop.

**oOo**

"Elrond, I assure you that the borders around are completely secure. I have all my best warriors on the job. If there are any orcs they will not get far." Glorfindel reassured his Lord, not for the first time since Celebrían had set out on her journey.

Elrond sighed. He knew that Glorfindel was right, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The two had been in his study all morning going over all possible locations for orc camps and how best to handle them, in the situation that they existed.

He supposed that all the speculation was heightening his concern for Celebrían. He put his head in his hands momentarily and took a deep breath. "I know that we are safe-" Pain ripped through his heart and Elrond collapsed on his desk clutching his chest.

Glorfindel leapt up with a cry. "Elrond!"

Elrond just gasped in reply, unable to speak. He had never felt such pain before in his life, not even when his twin brother Elros had passed on.

Glorfindel was already helping him sit up in his chair as the pain subsided and Elrond lurched out of his chair to stare wildly out of the window, unsure as to what he was searching for.

"Elrond, is everything alright? What happened?" Glorfindel was by the door, about to call for a healer but Elrond held his hand up.

"I am fine Glorfindel. It is not me. It is…" Elrond was not sure who it was. He calmed himself and closed his eyes, concentrating with all his might onto the fëar of his wife and children.

Glorfindel was not reassured, if it was not Elrond, then it had to be one of his family. "Who is it then? Elladan? Elrohir?" Glorfindel was always worried when the twins were away on patrol without him. It wasn't that he didn't think they could take care of themselves, quite the contrary, they were very capable of that. However, they were reckless and it never failed to worry him that one of them would come back hurt.

It was not the twins, while upset, Elrond could tell that they were fine. Arwen too was fine. Elrond felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and a hollow emptiness inside as he searched the fëa of his wife and found it tainted with pain, fear and desperation.

"Celebrían! It is Celebrían! She… she has been taken!" Elrond could barely get the last words out of his mouth as tears flooded down his cheeks. His precious wife was in the hands of the enemy and he could do nothing. Nothing but sit here and cry. He did not even know where she was.

Glorfindel paled. If Celebrían was taken, then Faron and his guards could only be dead. He knew his Captain. There was no way that he would ever allow anyone he was protecting to be taken while he still drew breath. "Are you sure?"

Elrond nodded and took several deep breaths to compose himself. Instead of focusing on what had happened he had to concentrate on fixing it. "She is frightened, frightened beyond reason. I must send a messenger to Elladan and Elrohir. They have to return immediately. There is no time to lose. We must find her." Only Elrond's eyes told of his intense worry as he turned towards his friend, already thinking of a plan.

Glorfindel briefly embraced his friend before silently giving his approval with a nod. He turned on his heel and strode out of the door, on the way to find a rider to intercept the twins. He knew where their patrol should be, it shouldn't take long for a lone rider to track them down. He would have gone himself but upon seeing his friend's state of mind he knew that he was needed here more.

Elrond on the other hand, just fell into his chair. Why didn't he listen to his conscience? He should never have let go, despite her pleas. Why! Why had he listened to her! He had known something would happen yet foolishly he had still let her leave. He wanted to bang his head against a wall, go back in time and refuse to let her go, no matter how angry she became. Now she was taken captive by the very monsters he had tried to protect her from and he was miles away from her with no idea where she was, or how to help her. As he let his head drop to his hands he cried out, "Oh Elbereth, please, please let no harm come to her."

**oOo**

**"Put them their boys!"** Orzag yelled with glee. Not only had they had just succeeded in wiping out the entire escort of Elves that had been evading them for weeks, but they had also managed to capture two ellith. The orcs who had drawn the short straw of carrying Tinil and Celebrían dropped them roughly on the ground. Both ellith cried out weakly, to much jeering from their captors.

Tinil's health was failing fast, her skin impossibly pale, her breathing labored. Before the attack Celebrían had hoped Tinil could pull through but now…the attack and the death of her beloved had stripped her of all hope and she was fading fast. All Celebrían could do for her best friend was try to comfort her and hope that she would not suffer for much longer. As brutal as it was she hoped with all her heart that her friend passed now, so she would not have to face the horrors that surely awaited them.

Orzag laughed as he saw the condition of Tinil, grabbing her chin and tilting it up, forcing her to look at his scarred face. "Don't worry she-elf, you will be with your dead elf-boy soon enough," His smile grew menacing. "But not before we have some fun with you!" Tinil collapsed with a groan as he let her go and Orzag yelled to another orc nearby. **"Find Azgad and tell him we brought the she-elves."**

The orc sneered at the elves and hurried off to find Azgad. Moments later a huge, disfigured Orc with a limp marched in. The corners of his mouth lifted in a grotesque imitation of a smirk when his eyes fell on the two terrified ellith,

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Azgad laughed menacingly, lifting Celebrían's head up. She stared at the floor, not bothering to respond. If she did not react then maybe, just maybe, they would get bored of her faster. She had no illusions that they would let her go but the alternative was more favorable than what would be her fate.

Orzag handed Azgad a silver eagle shaped pendant with a green gem in the middle. A jewel that until recently, had been pinned on Celebrían's dress. **"She was wearing this my lord."** Azgad grinned with malice. A jewel such of this could only belong to someone of significance.

He knelt down so his massive bulk took up Celebrían's entire world, dangling the jewel in front of her nose. "I want to know who you are and where you hail from. Only someone very special owns something as pretty as this."

Celebrían jerked her head away from Azgad and spat at his feet. "I will tell you nothing!" A fire blazed in her eyes and her earlier defeatist attitude dissipated. She would not be cowed by orcs!

Furious at her defiance, Azgad slapped Celebrían hard across the face leaving a hand-shaped mark that would quickly turn into an ugly bruise. He stared hard into her eyes, pinning her against the cave wall, his own burning a deep angry red. "Want to try that again elf scum?"

Clutching her cheek and trying to hold back tears, Celebrían turned her face away from Azgad. "I told you, I will not answer your questions." She kept her voice calm and level.

"Orzag!" Azgad boomed. Orzag was by his side in seconds and looking straight into Celebrían's eyes Azgad held out a hand. "Give me your dagger." Orzag held out the jagged-edged implement for his boss who twirled it between his fingers for a few seconds, still looking at Celebrían. And then, faster than a striking snake, he plunged it into Tinil's shoulder.

Tinil let out a blood-curdling scream and grabbed her shoulder. Celebrían cried out in terror and tried to reach out for her friend. "Stop! Leave her alone!"

Azgad laughed, his gurgling chortle a horrendous duet with Tinil's screams. "This is how it is. You talk, and she doesn't get hurt. So, once again, tell me who you are and where you come from."

Tinil whimpered again as Orzag slowly drew the knife out of her shoulder and proceeded to lick the blood off of the blade before putting it back in its sheath.

Celebrían, desperately wanting to protect her friend, began to contemplate telling him something. Anything, just enough to keep him happy. Tinil's whimpers turned into identifiable words. "Celebrían don't… Don't worry about me. Don't speak… please." At her words Celebrían gave Azgad a steely glare and pursed her lips in disapproval. "You cannot use her to manipulate me."

Azgad growled in anger and Celebrían could only watch as the world slowed, Azgad drawing his blade and plunging it deep into Tinil's chest. Celebrían screamed and lunged towards Tinil, gathering her friend into her arms, sobbing. Tinil looked into her friend's eyes and smiled one last time before the sad orbs rolled backwards and she relaxed into the arms of death.

Azgad licked his lips, blood dripping off his blade. "She outlived her usefulness." His red eyes were now dead and cold. "Think of it as favor. Now, elf scum, you only have to worry about you. And you won't be getting off that easy." He gestured at Tinil. A malicious smile sprouted onto his face. "I have plans for you and I can guarantee that before the end you will be begging me for death."

He turned on his heel and left, Orzag falling in behind him. Two orcs were left behind to chain Celebrían to the wall. Once they had gone she was left with only the body of her dead friend for company.

She stared at the empty cave entrance, the gravity of her situation falling onto her like a ton of rocks. Only the thought of her family kept her desire to live burning inside. She shrunk away from the slowly growing pool of blood beside her and sent a silent plea up to the sky. 'Elrond, please find me soon.'


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words in Bold are Black Speech  
> Just for reference, the ant here is actually known in real life as the Bullet Ant but sense bullets are not found in Middle Earth my beta reader and I went with the fire ant

**Warning: This chapter contains dark themes of torture**

Morning found Celebrían cold, hungry, thirsty and alone as she sobbed for Tinil. She could not stop blaming herself for her death. Yes, Tinil had pleaded with Celebrían to not say anything to Azgad about her home and who she was, but if she had not begged Tinil to come, then she would still be alive. Everyone would still be alive if it hadn't been for her. If only she had listened to the warnings instead of going ahead with her plans. Then nobody would have died and she wouldn't have their blood on her hands.

Celebrían was soon interrupted from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming towards her. As she looked up several orcs entered the room, snarling and sneering as they beheld the sight of Celebrían. She wondered what they wanted, too cowed to actually ask. Soon her question was answered as they approached the body of Tinil, cackling hideously to themselves.

"Tis, a pity to just let this food go to waste and our pets haven't eaten for a few days. I think this would be a nice treat for them. Tasty elf flesh!" The speaker looked directly at Celebrían as he spoke, a vicious smile on his face, and she shook in horror as she realized what they intended.

The other orc laughed, and called for the other orcs to bring in the wargs. It wasn't long before several of the huge, hideous creatures were brought in. Orcs hung desperately onto their chains as the slavering beasts tried to lunge at the ellith. They did not care whether their food was dead or alive. The orcs looped their chains through iron rings on the wall and then moved out of the way. Celebrían didn't need to ask what was going on. To her complete horror, Tinil's body was dragged lifelessly across the cave floor towards the hungry wargs.

She began screaming and desperately trying to break free from her bonds to no avail. Despair filled her heart. Even if she could break free she knew there was nothing that she could do. But she couldn't just sit and do nothing.

"Please, stop! Leave her alone!" She screamed over and over, begging the orcs but her pleas seemed to go unheard as Tinil was dragged closer to the beasts who were snarling in anticipation at the prospect of being given food, even if it was a day old.

"Here you go boys, raw elf meat right off the bone," sniggered one of the orcs as he helped toss Tinil's dead corpse to the ravenous wargs, staying well out of range of the beasts himself.

They wasted no time, pouncing on the body with relish. Celebrían tried to turn away, but she was frozen in place, unable to tear herself away from the hideous sight. All she was able to do was scream in a mixture of anger and pain as she watched what was left of her friend's body ripped apart. The wargs seemed to grow larger and more monstrous as they fed, red eyes gleaming. They squabbled amongst themselves, snapping at each other with dagger-like fangs and Celebrían shrank away, throat hoarse from screaming, her voice quenched by horror. The cave grew silent except for the contented crushing of bones, the ripping as choice chunks were removed from the mess of flesh and bone that had once been an elleth. Time crawled by and it seemed like an age had passed when the wargs finally finished their feast.

Celebrían exhaled in a sob of relief, unaware she had been holding her breath. It was over. There was nothing left of her friend other than a bloodstain where she had breathed her last. She gulped, hating herself for feeling relieved that Tinil's body had gone, for being thankful that the last trace of her friend had been taken from her.

A low growl made her head jerk up to see three pairs of burning red eyes staring straight at her. Their growls sounded like cackles to her ears, the wargs' lips curled up in identically cruel smiles. The beasts began to pad her way, each footfall a whisper leaving a bloody trail behind them. Celebrían froze again, this time from fear, and could only watch as they approached. They got more excited as they got closer, knowing their prey was cornered, salivating at the thought of live meat. And then, just as they reached the point where they could pounce, they paused, jangling their chains in irritation. Celebrían's heart leapt in joy as she realized what had happened and she let out a shaky breath.

The three wargs began to pace up and down, snarling and making playful swipes at her toes. Each time she jumped and tried to scramble further away, but her own bonds held her in place. She tried to calm herself. They couldn't get to her, they couldn't get free. The wargs stopped their pacing and swiping and watched her for moment. She stared back into their intelligent eyes and knew that they would do anything to end this stalemate. The cave had fallen entirely silent as she was drawn into that blood fueled gaze. And then, with a terrific growl, one of them leapt. Celebrían shrieked as it crashed to the floor at her feet. Undeterred it got back up and leapt again, its fellows mimicking the action.

Celebrían could only watch the increasingly frantic wargs in confusion. Until a small cracking echoed around the small cave. Her eyes immediately jumped to the source, widening in dismay as she grasped what was happening. They were trying to pull the chains out of the wall! Her face contorted in distress as the reality of the situation sunk in and she tried to scramble away, whimpering. The wargs began to howl, knowing victory was near as they felt their chains give a little more with each leap.

And then, just as Celebrían was sure she was going to die, the orc handlers ran in and brought their pets back under control. They were dragged from the room, howling in frustration. Celebrían's entire body shook from shock, and she barely had time to process what had happened when the orcs then turned on her.

They advanced towards her, unchaining her and yanking her to her feet. "Azgad wishes to see you my pet! So we are going to take a little stroll over to him."

Celebrían tried to fight but she was too tired and weak and found that her struggling was in vain as she was brought before Azgad. He was busy finishing up his own meal when she was brought before him, and she couldn't help her stomach growling in hunger at the sight of food, orc food or not. Getting up from his seat, he slowly made his way over to Celebrían with a look of hidden pleasure in his eyes.

"Did you sleep well? I certainly hope so, we can't have you too tired, or you will be no fun for us!" He then turned to the orcs who were holding her in place. "Tie her up over there."

The other orcs sneered and tied Celebrían up in the center of the room by her wrists so that she was just hanging, her feet barely touching the floor. When they left she was face to face with the same orc who had attacked her escort and brought Tinil and herself to this place.

"Comfortable?" Orzag asked with a smirk on his lips. When she didn't answer he just laughed. "Good." He walked over to a nearby table and picked up a flogging whip with three cat-tails on the end of it. He turned towards her and flicked the whip, causing Celebrían to flinch. Orzag grinned when he saw the fear evident in her eyes and looked at Azgad for permission to begin. Azgad nodded and Orzag began.

"Now it is quite simple she-elf. We know you are a high noble elf and we want to know who you are and where it was you were going to with such a large escort? You tell us this information then we will go easy on you. You refuse, and the deal is off."

Celebrían was no fool, and she knew that regardless of whether or not she told them they would not 'go easy' on her. She knew it was only a matter of time before they tired their games and killed her, so she remained quiet, her mind turning back to her family.

At her silence Orzag flicked the whip again. "Very well, have it your way." He positioned himself behind her. "I am going to enjoy listening to you scream."

Celebrían closed her eyes and desperately thought of her family as she felt the first lash hit her back. She thought of Elrond and his warm embrace as he held her, her sons as they laughed and hugged her and Arwen, of her beautiful smile. She tried to tune out the pain of the tails as they tore her skin with each strike. Each strike was more painful than the last and she could feel the warm blood running down her back in little rivulets. As pain clouded her thoughts, dimming the memories of her family, making her doubt how much more pain she could take, he stopped.

"Now, let us try it again. Who are you, and where were you going?" When she opened her eyes her vision was blurry from the tears and pain but she soon made out the face of Azgad standing in front of her.

Her determination was renewed and she spat at his feet. "I will not tell you anything so you might as well kill me now!" She managed to croak the words out through the burning pain, defiance plain in her voice.

Infuriated, Azgad grabbed the whip from Orzag and without any warning he began to whip Celebrían mercilessly. This time she couldn't hold back the screams which were sweet music to his ears. Each lash was harder than the last and her screams crescendo, echoing through the camp, the air alive with her pleas for mercy.

When Azgad's rage had burnt itself out he brusquely ordered his underlings to untie her. When the bonds were cut she collapsed to the floor crying, barely conscious. Azgad had her dragged to a table where her wrists were chained to the top, fixing her hands in place.

"If whipping will not convince you to cooperate then we will just have to try another means of extracting information from you." With a sadistic grin he picked up a device and had her thumbs placed in what looked like a vice. She could only stare at the cruel metal contraption, unsure of its purpose. She did not have to wait long to find out. Azgad slowly began to twist the screw which put pressure on her thumbs. He relished his job, Celebrían biting her tongue as the pain built in an attempt to keep from screaming. Her self-control shattered when she felt her bones begin to break and she couldn't keep from screaming out.

Her only thought through the pain was to not say a thing. No matter what Azgad hissed or roared, she kept on screaming, kept on emitting a wordless scream of pain. Only when her thumbs were reduced to pulp did he decide to try a new tactic, his anger growing.

She was brutally dragged by the wrists to where she had spent the night, her legs too weak to carry her. Azgad chained her back up and took a jar from the hands of Orzag. Unscrewing the lid, he looked at Celebrían who by now was in an unresponsive daze.

"Know what these are my pretty?" He received no response, nor did he expect to as he looked into her uncomprehending eyes. "These are fire ants. One sting from these will cause waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unrelieved for a day. You know how to end the pain." Without any warning he dropped several of the ants onto Celebrían.

She barely had the energy to cry anymore, curling into a ball as the poisonous ants took effect, her skin feeling like molten lava. She descended into a haze of pain, unable to think of anything else.

Azgad smiled at her pain and left the cave, giving orders not to give her food or water until she was ready to talk.

**oOo**

Elladan and Elrohir were riding hard and fast on their way back home. Neither of them spoke much as the only thoughts running through their mind were of their mother.

"Elladan, how much longer till we reach Imladris?"

"Morning tomorrow at this present speed. I just hope that we are not too late." Both brothers wore grim expressions and chose not to think of what could happen if they were too late.

Their silence resumed until Elrohir cried out as he saw a group of riders coming towards them. "Elladan, ahead, there are riders coming this way."

As they drew closer the twins realized that they were from Imladris. As soon as they were within earshot an elf called out. " _My lords Elladan and Elrohir, we bring news to you from your father. He bids you to hurry home. He thinks your mother is in grave peril_."

Elladan looked at his brother face falling. " _Cabedir, Glândir, we too had the same premonition and were on our way back home to speak with father_. _We must make haste for I fear that the longer we delay the more peril she faces,"_ Elrohir tried to keep the fear off his face and out of his voice. If their father felt the same thing they did, then they knew that time was of the essence and they could not linger. The company nudged their horses and rode as fast as they could towards Rivendell.

The group did not stop at all during the day, the twins would not allow it. Their thoughts were consumed with questions. What did their father see? Was their mother still alive? What condition was she in? What about Faron and the guard? They failed to notice the state their horses were in, ignoring the warnings of their fellows until Elladan's horse almost fell from under him. Elladan was barely able to keep himself on his horse and cursed himself for his irresponsibility. He put a hand in the air to halt his company, admitting defeat. They could not continue any further. "We must make camp here for the night. Our horses are too exhausted to continue."

Elrohir agreed and soon they had a fire started and their horses were unsaddled and drinking from a nearby stream. The group said nothing as they ate a small meal, worry preventing conversation. Elrohir offered to take the first watch and as the first stars came into view he wondered if his mother could see them, or whether she was trapped, far away from their watchful gaze. Elladan lay on his side, staring off into the darkness and as his mind was drifting he sent a plea to the Valar, begging them to prevent his mother from coming to harm.

**oOo**

Faron woke up in a daze, emerging from hazy unconsciousness. He had no idea how long he had been lying unconscious but he knew it had to have been a while. Night had fallen and his last memories were of a midday skirmish. He rose to his feet, gasping at the pain, barely able to stay upright. He looked around at the destruction and carnage and knew that he was the only one alive. He stared at the faces of his dead comrades and despair stole over his heart.

He had failed again. He had sworn to protect Celebrían, Tinil and his men and he had failed. It took all his willpower not to collapse, not to give up. He stared around the battlefield, his mind sluggish, unable to place what was missing. It slowly dawned on him. He could not see Celebrían or Tinil.

Faron stumbled around the battle site hoping beyond hope that she was still alive. "Oh please don't let them be dead. Please!" He begged, his voice quiet in the still night air. However, after several minutes of frantic searching he had failed to find Celebrían or Tinil. "If they are not here, then they could still be alive, which means that they were taken captive." Hope returned, if they were captive they could be freed. He chose not to think about what could happen in the meantime. He had to make it back to Rivendell and fast.

Faron had no idea how he was going to make it back. It was a miracle that he was alive. The chances of him staying that way were slim, his mind was clouded and even standing was a struggle. But staying and doing nothing was not an option so Faron began to walk shakily in what he thought was the direction of Rivendell. He had only taken a few steps when he heard the sound of soft whinnying. Searching for the source of the noise he came upon two horses that had managed to survive the attack.

One held a leg at an awkward angle and Faron did not have to investigate to know that it was broken. The second appeared to be unharmed, lingering near his companion out of loyalty. He had collected a weapon from one of his comrades, hardly remembering when and stared at it in sorrow, knowing what he must do. The injured horse would not manage the journey to Rivendell and with only three legs it would not survive alone. He stroked the lowered neck tears trickling down his cheeks "Goheno nín," He murmured as he drew the blade across its throat, thankful that it was sharp. The horse collapsed instantly and his companion skittered away from Faron as he murmured softly, dropping the weapon.

The remaining horse snorted warily and Faron felt despair as he realized that it would take some time before he would approach. He had two choices, to try and reach Rivendell by foot, or to wait for the horse. As he deliberated he felt blood trickling down his side, and saw the abundance of open wounds dotting his body. They made his mind up. He would bind what wounds he could, and wait for the horse. He set about using strips of cloth to bind the stab wounds that he could reach, hissing in pain as his battered body protested.

The horse slowly built up the courage to approach Faron, who watched with tired eyes, feeling the lure of unconsciousness. Once it was close enough he grabbed the broken reins and rubbed him between the eyes, calming him. When he was sure he could mount he maneuvered his horse into position and mounted him from a rock.

He knew from looking himself over that he was not going to last very long. By the pain in his chest and the difficulty he had breathing he knew his ribs were broken, and there was the possibility that an arrow had gone through something vital. He could also feel swelling in his stomach which was never a good sign. He didn't dare try to remove the arrows, fearing the bleeding would kill him and instead had cut them to a manageable length. His main concern was the slice across his back. Impossible to bind it was like an open mouth, constantly dripping blood. Every movement he made opened it further.

Getting on the horse caused immense pain and he could do little more than collapse onto its neck. " _Take us home mellon nín."_


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank my beta reader for helping me write the solo scene between Azgad and Celebrían. I must say that it is better than anything I could ever have written on my own. *shudders*
> 
> Words written in Italic indicate Sindarin
> 
> Warning: This chapter is slightly more dark than others.

Faron had no idea when unconsciousness had over taken him in the middle of the night, he was only aware of something soft and wet nudging him softly, urging him to awaken from his deep slumber. Faron tried to fight it as he knew the moment he woke up and tried to move his body would be assailed with unimaginable pain. However, the unseen being attempting to arouse him would not relent and so Faron had no choice but to awaken.

As he slowly opened his eyes the first thing that he noticed was bright sunlight blinding him. Faron tried to shield his eyes from the light but as soon as he tried to move his arm he was hit by a sharp searing pain radiating up his arm to his back. Faron bit back a cry and lowered his arm and attempted to close his eyes wanting nothing more than to fall asleep and never wake up again if only the pain would leave. But that was not to happen. The minute he tried to close his eye his four legged companion would nudge him again, each time slightly firmer than the last until he had no choice but to get up.

Faron finally gave in to his horse's prodding and tried to get up, but it was no use, he had no strength in him to stand. _"I cannot get up mellon, I am too weak. It is best that you just leave me here."_ His horse sensing his owner's pain and his inability to get up bent down on his front legs nudging him as if telling him to get on. Faron at first had no strength to grasp on to his horse's mane, each time losing his grip as the faithful animal tried to lift him up. But after about the fourth attempt, Faron was finally able to keep his grip and slowly crawled on.

"Le hannon, mellon nín," Faron said as the horse began to slowly trot off towards Imladris. Faron did not know just how much longer he would be able to remain in his conscious state as each movement and bump wracked his broken body more and more into darkness. "I must stay awake." He told himself over and over. Faron said a silent prayer to the Valar to help him remain awake as he gradually made his way home.

**oOo**

As the early morning hours approached, Elladan and Elrohir slowly opened their eyes, neither of them getting much sleep the night before. Thoughts of their mother raced through their minds as they quickly packed up their belongings and got on their steeds. Cabedir and Glândir made sure that the fire from the night before was completely doused before they mounted their horses to make the journey back to Rivendell as quickly as possible.

"We must move now, there is no time to spare. Each passing moment our mother remains in possible danger of the enemy," Elrohir said sternly as he nudged his horse towards home.

Elladan agreeing with his twin urged his own horse into a quick gallop and the others quickly followed suite. The twins were in such a hurry to reach home that Elladan had failed to notice the sharp slope ahead. As Elladan rounded the corner at top speed his horse slipped and started to slide down the steep hill. "Elladan!" Elrohir yelled out in fear as he saw his brother begin to fall over the edge. Fortunately, Elladan was able to catch himself and his horse and had somehow pulled himself back up to safety.

Cabedir sighed in relief when he had saw what had happened. "My lords, I know you are worried about your mother and are in a hurry to reach home, but it will do anyone any good if one of you become injured in your haste to get home. I suggest that we slow down so that we reach our destination in one piece."

The twins wanted to protest, wanted to scream that their mother needed them, but deep down they knew Cabedir was right. What good would they be to their mother if they ended up injured themselves? "You are right Cabedir. We must slow our pace down. But please let us continue." With that Elladan motioned for the others to follow close behind. Meanwhile, half alive, Faron patted his horse's neck as he neared the borders of Rivendell. Faron didn't know why but as he came closer he felt a sense of hope wash over him. Perhaps deep down he knew he was dying but whatever the reason he pushed on harder and faster than before hoping that he would make it in time.

**oOo**

A little after noon Elladan and Elrohir came charging in the gates of Rivendell. Elrond was in his study pacing back and forth when he heard the horn of his eldest son announcing their arrival. Elrond wasted no time in rushing out to meet them and was followed closely by Glorfindel, Lindir and Erestor.

Elrond cringed when he saw the exhausted look on his sons' faces but he also knew by the worried look on their faces that they would want to set out immediately to search for their mother. "Ada, what news have you on Nana?" Elladan asked trying to not sound like a frightened elfling.

"Easy my sons'," Elrond said embracing them closely. "I do not have any more news than what you already know. Let us have a quick meal and discuss our options."

Elrohir was about to protest but a quick stern look from his father left no room for arguments so the three of them along with Glorfindel, Erestor and Lindir went into the Council Room and after a short meal and a long discussion came into agreement that the best plan of action would be to go out and look for Celebrían and bring her back home even if it was just a false alarm.

Glorfindel left the room to go and gather his best warriors while the twins replenished their supplies and their father went into the healing room and grabbed all the healing equipment he could carry as he had no idea what he would run into or what condition his wife would be in if she was indeed hurt. It had been decided that Erestor would take over running Rivendell while Elrond was away.

Several hours later when everything was in order, the group which consisted of Elrond, his sons', Glorfindel and a large group of Elven warriors met at the front gates. "We will be back as soon as we can. A fortnight if everything goes as planned." Elrond told Erestor as he was getting ready to mount his horse.

"Safe travels my lord," Erestor said with a slight bow.

As they were about to leave Faron came into view barely sitting upright on his horse. "My lord Elrond it is Faron!" Glorfindel shouted rushing over to his friend's side. Elrond upon hearing Glorfindel quickly arrived at Faron's side just as Faron collapsed. Glorfindel helped him off of his horse and laid him on the ground supporting his head. Both Elrond and Glorfindel exchanged looks when they saw the condition of Faron and neither of them knew how it came to pass that he was still even alive much less was able to travel.

"Faron, what happened? Where are the others?" Elrond asked looking around as if he was expecting to see his wife and the others enter the gates behind Faron.

"We were attacked…. there were too many of them…" Faron spluttered, gasping for air. "Forgive me, my lord. I tried to save them…I failed you." Tears began to spill down his cheeks as he grasped onto Elrond's hand.

Elrond shook his head a sad smile playing on his face. "No Faron, you did not fail me. I am sure you fought bravely. But where is my wife, did she die?" Elrond didn't want to sound heartless, but he needed to know if she was alive.

Faron weakly shook his head. "I know not my lord. When I awoke I looked around for her and neither her nor Tinil's bodies were among the dead. I believe they may still be alive but I know not for how long or in what condition. I know that lady Tinil was hit by a poisoned arrow so I fear she may be dead by now." Faron began to fight to breathe and as Elrond made to help him Faron's eyes rolled in the back of his head and his head fell limply in Glorfindel's arms.

Elrond paled and got to his feet quickly. "We must move now. We do not have much time if we are to find my wife." Elrond motioned for one of his local healers Míriril to take the body of Faron and to lay him to rest. Elrond gently laid his hands on Glorfindel's shoulders. "He is at peace now mellon nín. Know that he fought bravely."

Glorfindel fought back the tears that were threatening to spill. He knew Elrond was right but he couldn't help but feel like he had failed his friend. The t wo of them had been through so much together, had fought side by side together and now he was gone. Glorfindel was torn. He wanted to be the one to put Faron to rest but he also knew that Elrond needed him as well.

After several minutes he handed Faron over to Míriril and walked over to Asfaloth. He would go with Elrond and help him find his wife and then he would avenge his friend. He would not have Faron's death be in vain. "Let us go now," he said with a hidden rage in his eyes.

The other's mounted their steeds and as the sun slowly started to set the group set out at once following the path that they knew Celebrían's was likely to have taken. They travelled hard and fast not stopping to even eat as they knew time was against them and the longer they took in finding her, the less likely she would be alive when they did. Eventually, they party was forced to stop and rest as their horses were now beginning to exhaust. As Elrond stared into the night, he could hardly contain the fear and anger that were running through him. "So help me she had better be alive and unharmed when I find her, or there will be nowhere for any of these spawns of Morgoth to hide when I find them."

**oOo**

Celebrían had seen neither hide nor hair of her captors since they had left her to writhe in pain as her skin erupted into boiling lava. She had drifted between the comforting darkness of unconsciousness and the fiery reality of the waking world until finally, reality only consisted of the all-encompassing ache of her wounds. She half-lay, half-sat, her arms chained above her head, desperately wishing that she could drift back into the comforting blanket of unconsciousness, for it all to just end. And so she dozed in her dark prison, dreaming of her family, oblivious of time passing by.

The scuff of feet roused her from her dreaming and by the light of the small flickering torch which he leant against the wall, she stared into the red eyes of Azgad.

"Hello my dear." His sharp toothed smile sent a chill of fear down her spine, screaming down every nerve, converging in a knot in the depths of her stomach. His eyes were lit by a strange light. Celebrían stayed mute, not trusting herself to reply, waiting for him to reveal another instrument of pain.

"Don't be scared my lovely. I'm not going to hurt you." Something about his smile made Celebrían remember when she was an elfling. She once saw a cat toying with a mouse. Instead of killing his prey the cat had tormented it, throwing it in the air and letting it go only to catch it again. Until finally, the mouse gave up and just lay on the ground, unmoving. Now the cat seemed to lose interest and began to leave. But it was a ruse. As the mouse saw its chance to run, the cat turned and pounced, breaking its spine with a single swipe. But the mouse did not die, not then. The cat watched as it continued to struggle, dragging itself by its front legs. Only when the mouse collapsed, exhausted, did the cat put it out of its misery. She still remembered the snowdrops she had planted on its grave, the small white flowers growing every spring, heralding the end of winter.

As Azgad reached out a sharp claw Celebrían was acutely aware that she was the mouse. She reflexively shrank away, whimpering as pain erupted from every whiplash.

Azgad's face crumpled with regret. "I'm sorry my beautiful little flower." His sharp claw snagged on a blood-matted dreadlock and moved it away from Celebrían's face.

He reached a hand into the darkness and Celebrían tracked it with her eyes, her mind swirling with all the horrendous possibilities for what it could be, each more outlandish than the last. A hysterical giggle burst through her lips as the hand returned clutching a wet rag.

"That's more like it my sweet. Now we need a nice smile to match." Azgad raised the rag to Celebrían's cheek. "I didn't want to hurt you." His voice was grating. It wasn't a voice that was made for speaking softly.

The chill from the water made her shiver as he dabbed at the blood crusted on her cheek, but the huge orc did not notice. "You made me angry you see." He dropped the rag back into the unseen bucket and sat back on his haunches, studying her for a moment.

Celebrían hated herself for being grateful to this beast for removing the blood. Feeling just the slightest bit cleaner brought her unparalleled relief and the consequent self-disgust. He made a small tutting sound and leant forwards over her, his body millimeters from hers.

She tensed in fear, waiting for the hot breath on her neck, for the hands to start ripping her already torn garments. She had no illusions about the nature of orcs. Her breath was loud in the darkness, shuddering.

Time crawled by and she wanted to scream. Wanted to scream for him to just get it over with. The waiting only made it worse, if it was quick, then maybe, maybe she would be able to forget, to pretend it never happened. But her throat was too dry to emit anything more than a rasp or a whimper and she could only wait in torment. And as she waited she became acutely aware of how small she was compared to him. His bulk was entirely made up of huge, rope-like muscles, a body innately suited to a life of battle. She was so soft, so weak, what chance could she ever stand against such a creature?

A quiet snick made her twitch in fear and Azgad leant back to squat on his haunches as Celebrían's arms fell, muscles screaming in relief as they finally relaxed. She almost broke then, almost broke with the relief that he had moved, that his muscled body was no longer near her, no longer an imminent threat.

It took a while for her to realize what had happened. When it did, it hit like a hurricane blowing through a forest. He had let her free. She could run! There was nothing to stop her! Hope sparked within her and strength flooded into her muscles.

Then Azgad gave her a small, sad smile. "Please don't run."

The hope died as quickly as it had started, like a candle snuffed out in the wind. Despair must have shown on her face, as his expression filled with regret.

"I am sorry my sweet." He reached out and stroked her blood-matted hair, sending a shudder of revulsion through her body. "You must long to see the stars, to feel the fresh air on your skin." An even stranger light filled his eyes at the mention of the stars and something stirred within Celebrían's heart for this twisted creature. Then it disappeared as he looked deep into her eyes.

"But if you run, my guards will kill you, my wargs will hunt you down. They shall rip your corpse to shreds and no one will know where you died, how you died. You shall fade from the memories of your kin until only your family remembers you ever existed. And the knowledge of their failure will torment them until they succumb to madness."

Cold tears flowed in rivulets down Celebrían's cheeks, the hopelessness of her captivity crashing down around her. Her physical chains may have been removed but she would never escape from this prison. The lure of freedom was contagious, the open cave mouth beckoned, the stars sang their distant song and she wished that she was still chained. Still chained without hope. Without the hope which now ripped her heart to shreds, as if it was the victim of a thousand sword strokes.

"Turn around." The order was softly spoken, but firm, and Celebrían found herself instinctively obeying. She had no energy for resistance, no defiance left. She gasped in shock as freezing water hit her skull, trickling through the roots of her matted hair. Azgad raked his claws through her locks, pulling and untangling, and Celebrían's internal resolve withered further.

The orc defiled her very being in an action that was so painfully familiar, so personal. It was a twisted parody of the ritual Elrond performed every night and every morning, his soft hands drifting through her silken hair. She could almost imagine that he was there behind her, a smile on his face, a face which she wanted nothing more than to see again, to kiss and to feel his strong arms wrapped around her. It was something so simple, yet infinitely precious, and it was there's. But the orc's claws shattered the illusion as they raked and snagged, breaking strands of hair off as he ruthlessly obliterated any blood located in her tresses. The beloved ritual blackened and rotted, forever tainted.

She shook with cold and devastation as he finished, dragging sharp claws rhythmically through her hair. "It is so beautiful." He murmured, "Like spun silver."

Celebrían's breath shuddered through her chest as she futilely wished that he would stop. That he would just leave and this would all drain from her mind and memory, washed away like blood down a river.

In that moment, as one of her most treasured moments was repeatedly destroyed, she wished he had just raped her. For this, this was a thousand times worse. Every time a claw was dragged through her hair she was intrinsically and irrevocably violated. Every light touch was a needle slowly pushed into her soul to leave her in eternal torment.

He continued his ministrations as he murmured, "Now I've done a favour for you, it is only fair that you do a favour for me. What is your name and where do you live?"

Celebrían was too wrapped up in her own despair to hear him, let alone answer and her silence was only broken by a juddering breath.

Azgad's sighed, a heavy, regretful sound. "Turn." His order was firm and penetrated her sorrow, so she turned, unfeeling, all hope of escape crushed beneath the feet of her captor, as significant as the dirt on the floor.

Her reverie of despair was yanked away from her as a freezing wall of liquid crashed down over her head. She took huge breaths in shock, her chest constricting as uncontrollable shivers wracked her body.

Azgad dropped the bucket with a clang as streams of water trickled out of the cave, reddened by the blood washing from her wounds.

She didn't resist as he stood, lifting her arms above her head, barely feeling the pain as her muscles groaned at being forced back into that unnatural position. She only felt the cold creeping into every part of her body, mind, and soul. But it did nothing to numb her pain.

The key clicked, locking her into her prison and Celebrían felt the song of the stars lose its voice and the comforting knowledge that she was once again completely trapped settled over her. She was glad. The call of freedom only made it hurt more. It promised a return to how things used to be, a promise which could never be fulfilled. It was easier to give up when she believed that things could never be the same.

Azgad caressed her delicate hand with his calloused paw before once again squatting down. His hungry eyes caught her own and Celebrían froze, unable to look away as he caught her jaw in one hand. "I was wrong. Your hair is liquid starlight. And your lips..." A sinister smile crossed his face. He brushed a thumb over them, his sharp claw scoring a line which began to weep red tears. "Are like blood in a field of snow."

His teeth showed as his hand left her jaw and trailed down her neck, entirely engulfing it, his callouses scraping her skin. "So pale, so soft…" His gravelly voice was almost singsong as he tipped her chin back with a thumb and lifted her shimmering hair away from her neck.

And then cold metal took the place of calloused palms and Celebrían's throat constricted, her skin trying to shrink away from the band. She was suddenly aware of two pinpricks of cold beneath her chin and two digging into her collar bone. She tried to drop her head to see what it was and the cold turned to pain, and two drops of hot blood burned their way down her throat.

"Don't do that my lovely. I don't want you to die." Azgad's whisper was loud in her ear and she was all too aware of the conscious world as he dipped his claw in the blood trickling down her throat and painted a red line down over her collarbone.

He licked his lips as he trailed a thin red line over her breasts, grinning as Celebrían shivered at the touch, no longer caring what he did to her body. She had already been violated, nothing else he did could matter.

His claw dropped lower and lower, until it scraped the inside of her thigh and some small part of her began to scream in horror. But the greater part had shut down and she only shuddered. The big orc looked into her eyes with a sharp-toothed smile. "I could, if I wanted. You are powerless, there is nothing you could do to stop me." He cocked his head. "But I won't. I need you, like you need me. But I am running out of time to play games. You will have one last chance and if you do not help me, I will leave you to the mercy of my underlings and you will beg to them for death."

The huge orc rose silently, a small smile playing on his lips. "Just think on it." He collected his bucket and began to leave, pausing as his bulk was silhouetted against the cave mouth as dawn began to break... "Our ancestors were not so different. Perhaps, if fate had fallen differently, things would not be as they are now. And for that… I will give you freedom. If you tell me what I need to know I will give you freedom."

Celebrían lay alone in the darkness once more, her heart singing for freedom, while the rest of her mourned its loss in devastation, incapable of hope. She consciously held her head up so it wouldn't drop down, constantly wishing for sleep. Wishing for the darkness so for a small time she could just forget, forget what had been done. _So why don't I?_

Fear burned through her core as she realized that she no longer cared, no longer cared that sleep meant death, that if her head dropped spikes would spear her throat. She was scared by her own lack of a desire to live. _But what is there to live for? I will not leave here, not alive._ Her fear drained away as the solution was revealed to her. Death. Death was her only escape.

More tears trickled their cold path down Celebrían's cheeks as she lay, at war with herself, she longed to just allow her eyes to close, her head to droop and for death to come, but she could not do it. She could not make herself die.

Hopelessness filled her heart, dropping her into eternal torment and she withdrew from the world, withdrew into the small part of her mind that was still happy. The place where she could speak to her sons, her daughter, lie in the arms of her husband. The place where nothing could find her. And as she abandoned her cold, wrecked body she knew in her heart that there was no going back.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If parts of this chapter seem familiar it is because I took parts of it out from my story Fading Light

Elrond and the rest of his rescue party had pushed their horses to the brink of exhaustion. No one dared to tell the elven warrior that they needed to slow down for fear of angering him. They had been travelling at this grueling pace going on two days when one of the scouts travelling ahead exclaimed that they had found the place that gruesome battle took place.

Elrond wasted no time in reaching the site that the scout had come across. As they approached the narrow, rocky passage they were met with a grisly sight. All around them, dead bodies from both orcs and elves were sprawled, some with throats slit and others with arrows or spears protruding from various parts of their bodies.

The bodies were already heavily discolored and rigid as it had been at least four days since the battle took place and they were now beginning to decompose. The smell of rotting corpses was overpowering causing Elrond and the others to cover their noses and mouths but even that could not keep the smell from reaching their nostrils. Several of the bodies were bloated while maggots were hatching in others. The snow was streaked with rich crimson and deep black from the blood of both elves and orcs. The elves had been outnumbered, the massive amount of orc was overwhelming. Never had so many orcs come out during the daylight or at this time of year as they had that day.

When Lord Elrond saw the massacre he immediately dismounted his horse and was followed closely by both of his sons and Glorfindel. "We must find my wife! I want all of you to look for her!" Elrond shouted. Everyone started searching but to no avail, it was just as Faron had said, neither Celebrían nor Tinil were among the dead.

"My Lord, she is not here. We have looked everywhere," said one of the elves.

"She has to be. Keep looking!" Elrond spat back causing the elf to flinch. He knew deep down that she was not here. Faron had looked high and low for her among the fallen and Elrond knew that Faron would not have left her if she had indeed been here but he could not bring himself to believe that his precious wife was in the hands of orcs. The very thought made him scream inside with an anger that he had never felt before. Elrond knew as well as everyone else that the only reason orcs would keep anyone alive, especially a female, would be to have their way with them either physically, sexually, or both.

Elrond was on the verge of losing it when he heard Elladan shout. "Ada! Over here!"

Elrond ran over to where his son was. "Ada, they've taken her. Look." Elladan handed him a necklace that Elrond had given his wife on her begetting day. Elrond took it and swore under his breath. "She was definitely alive when they took her Ada. She put up a fight. And the tracks lead this way." Elladan pointed north away from the battle.

"Then we will follow those tracks and we will not stop until we find her!" Elrond vowed. "This way!" He commanded. Everyone was tired but they didn't dare argue.

"Father, what about the bodies, we can't leave them like this." Elrohir responded, the very thought of just leaving the deceased behind was unthinkable.

Elrond knew that Elrohir was right so he and several of the other elves gathered the bodies and began to burn them. Elrond hated that he had to burn the elves alongside the orcs but as time was of the essence he had no choice. They had to leave quickly before night fell and they were forced to stop again. When they finished taking care of the deceased they mounted their horses and began to follow the trail that led away from the battle. They could only pray that Celebrían and Tinil were still alive when they found them.

**oOo**

Celebrían was barely conscious as she lay chained against the wall. Exhaustion, starvation and dehydration were now taking its toll on her badly beaten body and every move she made sent spasms of pain rocking through her body like a thousand daggers. She had no idea how much longer she could stay awake or even alive. Every second that passed she could feel her fëa slowly abandon her, but somehow she had managed to find the strength to hold on. Perhaps it was a fool's hope but she kept telling herself that Elrond and her sons would find her and everything would be alright.

As she began to drift off to sleep again she was roused not only by the pain from the metal band that was still clasped around her throat, but also the sound of several footsteps coming in her direction. She lifted her head and looked in the direction that the sounds were coming from and saw five large orcs enter followed by Azgad. Azgad gave instructions to two of the orcs to remove the crude device from her neck. As soon as it was removed her head fell forward and she could not help but cry out in relief.

Her relief was short lived however as the orcs began to kick her already bruised body, laughing with the pleasure they got from her crying out in pain. They would have continued had Azgad not ordered them to cease from their actions. "So my blossom, have you come to your senses? Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?" Azgad asked, running a finger along her jaw, dark pleasure gleaming in his eyes.

Celebrían jerked her head away and clamped her mouth shut. She knew that regardless of whether she told him what he wanted to know that Azad would kill her anyways. Snarling at her defiance, he slapped her hard across the face, drawing blood. "Have it your way witch, but know this, if anyone dares to try and rescue you I promise you that they will be captured and I will personally kill them one by one in front of you!"

Celebrían could no longer hold back her emotions and she began to scream, hot tears streaming down her bruised and battered cheeks. "Please, I just want to go home!"

Azgad laughed, his voice causing her to tremble even more. "Oh you will be going home my sweet. As soon as you tell me what I want to know I promise you I will release you from these chains." Azgad called several of his lackeys over and ordered them to unchain her. **"Tie her over there and prepare her for more treatment."**

The smaller orcs grinned and proceeded to remove her bonds. When the last chain had been removed she fell to the cold cave floor with a hard thud. With a huge kick to her gut they roughly dragged her limp body across the floor and tied her up by her already raw wrists until she was hanging once again as she was the night they had first tortured her.

Azgad walked over, his hands behind his back as a single orc prowled behind her carrying a red hot branding iron. Celebrían futilely tried to break free. She didn't know what she would do but she had to get out of here. "Now, now," Azgad said, stilling her movements with a caress of his hand. "Just where do you think you will go?" Azgad said, tutting. "Tell me what I want to know and no harm will come to you."

At that point Celebrían broke. She no longer cared. That small tut, as if reprimanding a foolish child, destroyed any last shred of her crumbled resistance that had survived the endless night of her torture. Just as she came to peace with her decision, preparing to answer all of his questions, Orzag burst through the room with his sword drawn. " **Azgad! We are under attack; a group of elves are at our door! We believe they are here for the she elf!** "

Azgad growled, "It would appear that your family have come to try and rescue you. I would not get my hopes up too much, we will soon destroy every last one of them and then I will come back and deal with you!" With one word the rest of the orcs left leaving Celebrían alone once again.

Celebrían could not help but feel a rush of adrenaline come over her at the thought of her family and she began to frantically get out of her bonds. She was not sure what she would do once she got herself free, only that she needed to get to her family. Celebrían had just about got one wrist free when she heard a noise, and looking up she saw a large, hideous orc standing inches from her. "Where do you think you are going?" The orc replied, his face twisting in anger. "The only way you are leaving here is in pieces!" Celebrían screamed in terror as the orc lunged at her with a knife.


End file.
